Community Foundation of Burke County

2008 Community Grant recipients

Community Grants
General Grant Guideline Information
Cycle Deadline – May 31

Community Grants allow the Community Foundation of Burke County to make grants to tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) organizations that have programs benefiting the residents of Burke County. These programs and projects should promote cooperation and collaboration among organizations without duplication of services. At this time we do not review proposals outside of Burke County or make grants or loans to individuals.

The Community Foundation of Burke County encourages proposals that:

demonstrate collaboration
affect a broad segment of the population
are relevant to overall community needs and available resources
enhance or improve organizations, which serve clients whose needs are not met by existing services and which encourage client independence, self-sufficiency and responsibility
emphasize prevention and early intervention

In addition, the Foundation is inclined to give favorable consideration to proposals that:

are pilot programs that can clearly be used as a model for others
have reasonable prospects for future support
move the community to a higher cultural awareness

Community Grants will not be used for:

programs outside of Burke County unless directly benefiting Burke County
annual fund campaigns or capital campaigns
religious or political purposes
individuals (including scholarships)
organizations which have not been determined to be tax-exempt as described in Section 509(a)(1) and 170B (1)(a) of the Internal Revenue Code
augmenting endowments
underwriting for fund raising events and performances

Community Grants will consider proposals for the following*:

second year funding or multi-year funding
routine operating support for ongoing programs

*This represents a change from prior years' guidelines in recognition of the continuing funding difficulties faced by the nonprofit sector in 2010.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

The process for submitting grant proposals is easy to follow.

1. Complete the Notification of Intent form. (This form is in pdf format.) Mail, fax or email it to the Foundation offices by April 30.

2. Notifications of Intent will be reviewed within one week of receipt. If proposal meets the requirements of the Foundation and is considered to be of critical importance to the Burke County community, a Grant Application will be sent to the organization for completion.

3. Grant Application deadline is 5 pm, May 31.

4. Applications will be reviewed and site visits will be conducted by the Grants Committee in June, July and August and presented for final approval at the regularly scheduled September Board of Directors meeting.

GRANT APPLICATIONS MUST INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:

1. Community Foundation of Burke County official Grant Application (CURRENT).

2. Copy of the applicant’s most recent tax-exempt letter from the US Internal Revenue Service. Applicants must be organizations serving the Burke County community and exempt from income taxes under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. If an organization is not a 501(c)(3) then it must have an organization with a 501(c)(3) designation act as its fiscal agent. A letter signed by the president or chair of the Board of Directors of the fiscal agent stating its Board’s approval of this action is required.

3. Copy of the most recent audit or year-end financial statement showing sources of income and expenses and the most recent monthly financial statement.

4. List of the members of the Board of Directors and Officers including address, phone number and principal occupation.

ACCOUNTABILITY

All grants will be monitored by the Community Foundation for the duration of the grant period.
Grants are ordinarily made for one year only. However, when circumstances justify, a commitment for second year or multi-year support may be arranged.
When the Foundation does authorize a grant, the applicant is officially notified by mail. The applicant is required to sign a grant agreement supplied by the Community Foundation, which must be returned to the Community Foundation office prior to payment of the grant.
All grant recipients must complete a progress report (in pdf format) on the expenditure of grant funds and the results of the projects supported. A schedule of the reports will be shown on the Grant Agreement. Any money not spent for the specific purpose of the grant must be returned to the Community Foundation of Burke County, Inc. and cannot be diverted to other uses without the express approval of the Foundation’s Board of Directors.